Drea de Matteo has admitted that she is "excited" by her upcoming role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In an official NBC interview, the actress revealed that she accepted the role of a battered wife in the episode 'Possessed' without reading the script.

"I had not read the script, I just knew that they wanted me to do something on the show and I'm a fan of the show," she explained. "I was really excited to be on this show. This is like a New York staple. It's part of our culture here."

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De Matteo added that the character was similar to other roles she has played in the past.

"The general [type of] characters I play are low self-esteem New Yorkers," she suggested. "I usually play white trash, and that's what I'm here [on this show] to do."

She added: "It is what I'm good at playing for some crazy reason. [It's] strange, because I could not be more opposite from these characters that I play."

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit returns to NBC with a double-bill on January 5.